Hontiveros: With limited public funds, there should be no ‘mispriorities’

Sen. Risa Hontiveros Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday stressed the need for a national budget with no “mispriorities,” adding that limited public funds should be allocated to address the needs of Filipinos.

Hontiveros made the statement during the opening of the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed national budget for 2024.

“We have to do so much, amid a very, very tight fiscal space. Like many countries in the post-pandemic era, our fiscal situation is characterized by high debt and high deficit.  We need to better manage our national debt and the deficit, but more importantly, set spending priorities that raise growth — growth that is both inclusive and fiscally sustainable,” said Hontiveros.

“Kailangan natin ng national budget na walang “mispriorities.” Ang limitadong pondo ng bayan, dapat mapunta sa aktwal na kailangan ng ating mga kababayan,” she added.

(We need a national budget without “mispriorities.” The limited public funds should go to the actual needs of our countrymen.)

For the senator, setting spending priorities straight means “rechanneling” certain allocations.

She later clarified that she was pertaining to the confidential funds in civilian agencies with no direct relation to national defense and public safety.

Hontiveros also noted that the government should also look at rechanneling funds that “eat up other sources of development financing,” like the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund.

“The 2024 national budget that we are drafting must deliver a solution to the country’s most serious developmental and fiscal challenges. We must respond to the impact of rising inflation in the Philippines, along with high interest rates on the purchasing power of the peso. More than that, we must take action – through the 2024 budget – for the tragic 2.3 million Filipinos who have fallen below the poverty line due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hontiveros in a mix of English and Filipino.

READ: Hontiveros: Ban civilian agencies’ contingent fund for secret use

The opposition senator then  highlighted that the administration’s goal to make the Philippines a “hot investment destination” is good, but she noted that this will not be achieved without addressing the rising low-quality jobs as well as hunger among Filipinos.

READ: Senate begins marathon plenary debates for 2024 nat’l budget

To recall, the proposed budget for 2024 amounts to P5.768 trillion — an allocation 9.5 higher than the 2023 General Appropriations Act which amounted to P5.268 trillion.